PASSIVE AND CAUSATIVE VERBS ACTIVE FORM PASSIVE FORM Structure Subject + Verb + Direct Object Subject (direct object of active form) + Verb to BE (same tense as active verb) + Past Participle (of active verb) + BY * + Indirect Object (subject of active form) Use When it is important to underline who is responsible for the action, i.e. the subject that comes first. When it is important to emphasise the person or thing acted on, i.e. the subject that comes first, or when who is responsible for the action is unknown or unimportant. Present simple Present continuous The students read the leaflet. The students are reading the leaflet. The leaflet is read by the students. The leaflet is being read by the students. Past Simple Past continuous The students read the leaflet. The students were reading the leaflet. The leaflet was read by the students. The leaflet was being read by the students. Future simple Going to The students will read the leaflet. The students are going to read the leaflet. The leaflet will be read by the students. The leaflet is going to be read by the students. Present perfect Past perfect The students have read the leaflet. The students had read the leaflet. The leaflet has been read by the students. The leaflet had been read by the students. Conditional simple Conditional perfect The students would read the leaflet. The students would have read the leaflet. The leaflet would be read by the students. The leaflet would have been read by the students. Modals The students may read the leaflet. The leaflet may be read by the students. Infinitive To read To be read Gerund R eading B eing read Main tenses In sentences where the active form has both a direct and an indirect object, the following form is usually preferred: the subject of the passive form is the indirect object of the active form. Someone has left him a note. He has been left a note. = A note has been left for him. * The indirect object introduced by by is not necessary, and is usually omitted when generic or irrelevant. They have built a new nursing home in this area. A new nursing home has been built in this area (by them). CAUSATIVE VERBS Structure To make someone do something (to force or to cause) To let someone do something (to allow) To have someone do something (you ask someone to do something for you) To have something done (other people do this thing for you) To get someone to do something (to persuade) Use When we want to talk about something that someone else did for us or for another person. The subject caused the action but didn t do it themselves. 392 extra